


Anyone else but him

by SzonKlin



Category: Father Brown (2013)
Genre: M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-24 15:57:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15633942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SzonKlin/pseuds/SzonKlin
Summary: When Sid is caught with another man, can Father Brown save him from jail?





	Anyone else but him

  
Sid was lying on the bed, watching Mr. Branson get dressed. With women, he tended to bolt for the door as soon as the deed was done, afraid that if he stayed behind, it might be understood as a sign of a more serious relationship. But with the sort of men he usually got together with, it wasn’t an issue. They tended to be the firsts to run. Cuddling wasn’t worth being arrested for.

After Mr. Branson left the room with a “The maids will be here in half an hour, make sure you get out unseen before that”, Sid got up and started to lazily gather his clothes. He only had time to put on his underpants before Inspector Sullivan charged in, calling for the owner of the room. Upon finding Sid there instead, he stopped as suddenly as if he was hit by lightning, staring at the mostly naked man in front of him, then promptly turning around and marching out.

Sid could hear Sergeant Goodfellow reporting to the inspector as he frantically dressed.

“Mr. Branson just left, not five minutes ago. The innkeeper said that his room hasn’t been cleaned yet and we are free to look, there should be some clues left.”

Sid didn’t wait around to listen to the inspector’s response, he checked the room one more time to make sure he left nothing behind and exited through the window. There was little hope left that Sullivan wouldn’t know what he was doing in the room. Even less hope that he would look the other way for the sake of a petty criminal whom he always seemed keen to arrest. Sid knew if he wanted to avoid prison, he needed help.

Sid Carter was told many times that sooner or later he would end up in jail and he himself has accepted it as a more than likely outcome of his life, but to go there for being with another man? That scared and angered him in equal measure. He knew how people like him were treated by the guards and other inmates, and more than that, it hurt his surprisingly strong sense of justice. He might have had questionable relations with the concept of private property and spousal faithfulness, but he followed this own code of ethics and in his book, a consensual affair between two adults was no one else’s business and it made him furious that it should be grounds for ruining someone’s life. And since his reputation was not something he was concerned about and he was always careful about leaving proof behind, he never imagined that he would be arrested for this.

 

# ***

 

“Father? Father!” Sid burst into the kitchen, where Mrs. McCarthy and Father Brown were having their afternoon tea and Award Winning Strawberry Scones. “Father, I really messed up this time” he exclaimed. “I need your help.”

“Now come on, Sidney, it can’t be that bad, and you are not a stranger to trouble after all. Grab a cup and we will sort it out with some tea” Mrs. McCarthy said, already busying herself, when Father Brown interrupted her, following the pained look on the boy’s face, the like of which he didn’t see often on the careless lad.

“I wonder if we might have the room to ourselves, Mrs. McCarthy” he said in a kind, but determined voice.

“Well alright then, I have to sort out next month’s flower schedule anyway, what with poor Mrs. Baker having been taken ill…”

“Yes, thank you. I’m sure you will rise to the task” the father interrupted her, before all but pushing her out. When he turned back, he saw the boy leaning on the table with his head in his hands.

“What is it, my boy?” Father Brown asked, settling down next to Sid. His voice had a warmth quite different from the way he normally spoke. The priest tried to love everyone equally, as his faith urged him to, but even he couldn’t deny that the way he cared about this black sheep was unlike anything else. Father Brown was convinced, that if Sid was his own son, he couldn’t have loved him more. And while usually he tried to see suffering as a way to God, now all he wanted was to ease the lad’s pain.

“I was caught with a man. In bed. Or as good as that” Sid spoke mechanically. He wasn’t afraid of the Father’s judgement anymore. It has been a long time since he first approached the priest about that subject, scared and anxious, only to be met with love and acceptance. Even now he knew, that though Father Brown disapproved of his casual encounters – not because of his partners but because of the lack of emotions and commitment, he would find support. “I can’t go to jail, Father, not over this!”

“I see” the Father pursed his lips for a second, deciding that the event required his detective skills first, and when the issues of worldly justice were dealt with, then he could concentrate on his priestly duties and console Sid’s soul. “And this person that caught you… Do you think they’ll go to the police? Do they have proof?”

“They don’t need to” Sid deflated even more as he realized just how true those words were. “It was Inspector Sullivan. And he doesn’t need proof, does he? He can arrest me himself and if it comes down to it, who are they gonna believe? An inspector, or a criminal? And if I go to jail… If they find out why I’m there… I’ll be lucky if they kill me, Father! You told me it wasn’t wrong” Sid was crying by then. The fear and anger and disappointment he felt was too much to contain. He jumped up and began pacing. “You told me it wasn’t wrong. Then why do I have to die for it? Suffer for it?”

“God is Love itself, Sidney. And all love comes from God. But sometimes earthly justice is contrary to God’s will. However, my dear boy, do not give up just yet. You say the inspector caught you, but you still got away. Did he not try to arrest you there? Then surely there is hope! The good inspector might be too eager to act on the letter of the law at times, but he isn’t a bad man at heart. He might be more lenient than you give him credit for.”

“You didn’t see his face when he caught me. You’ve never had anyone look at you with such disgust. No, he didn’t try to arrest me, but that wasn’t out of any leniency. He was too disgusted to do anything else than run out” he fell to the chair again. “You didn’t see his face” he whispered, barely audible. “That is the worst, Father. I’ve done a lot of stupid things, I was bound to end up in jail… And a part of me knew it was a possibility every time I went to bed with a man… But I can’t… Of all the police in England, why does it have to be Sullivan? I could accept it if it was anyone else but him… if it wasn’t the man that I… If it wasn’t Sullivan…”

A familiar excitement washed over Father Brown, that he always felt whenever the pieces of a mystery fell into place, only to be replaced by guilt over such inappropriate feeling and pity for the boy whose life was just about to come crumbling down around his head, right when he evidently started to hope for a better one.

“You care about him, don’t you?”

“No surprise there, really. I always fall for the ones way out of my league” Sid’s laugh was bitter.

“Your heart longs for goodness, just like everyone else’s. That is what drove you to sweet little Susie and now to the good inspector. But you are wrong. You are not worth less than they do. But that is a topic for another day. Now, do you want me to talk to Inspector Sullivan?”

 

# ***

 

In the hubbub of the police station it took a while before Father Brown could get Sergeant Goodfellow’s attention to ask for the whereabouts of the inspector who was conspicuously absent from the frenzy following the arrest of the man who brutally murdered a local woman to cover up a crime committed years ago and then a police officer to cover his tracks in the murder.

Inspector Sullivan was sitting at his desk, staring into a mug as if it could answer some pressing questions, the casefile laying forgotten in front of him.

“Isn’t it a bit early for a drink?” Father Brown asked chipperly, realizing belatedly that he should have avoided any semblance of judgement and not antagonize the man he is about to beg to for mercy.

Surprisingly the inspector didn’t try to send the impertinent priest away. He might even have looked somewhat glad to see him there.

“Unfortunately, yes” he replied. “This is only tea. Would you like some?”

“Yes, that would be lovely. Three sugars, please.” On any other day, the inspector would have remarked on the fact that Father Brown seemed to indulge in many temptations for a priest, but after the day he had he was in no mood for jokes and gluttony was hardly the worst sin he had seen that day.

“What brings you by, Father? You usually turn back into a priest once the culprit is caught, especially when he is not one of your flock and asked for no visit from you.”

“You will be glad to hear that my visit is quite unrelated to the case, instead it does pertain to one of mine.”

The inspector started arranging the files on his desk to avoid the priest’s eyes. He felt he knew the reason the father was there, but he didn’t know how he felt about it.

“I’ll be direct. A man’s life and perhaps even his soul is in the balance and I don’t have time to be reticent. I am here about Sidney. He told me that the two of you had a run-in earlier today and I wanted to ask you what you are planning to do about it and to try to urge you to be lenient.”

“Lenient? You think that in this case I should leave the punishment to God?”

“I think that in this case there should be no punishment. There was no harm done to anyone that should warrant an earthly punishment and I believe that the only crime Sidney committed in the eyes of God was taking a lover with no thought of marriage, or at least an equally serious commitment.”

“But he didn’t just take any lover, did he?”

“Should the crime of murder be qualified differently based on the specifics of the victim? If murder is murder regardless of the victim’s profession or wealth or sex, then why should love be qualified by those things?”

“Are you saying that there can be a love between two man that is equal to that between a man and a woman? Isn’t that contrary to what your church says?”

“I’ve been known to follow my conscience’s guidance over that of the church when the two are in conflict. And in this instance my conscience tells me that the church and the law are wrong. And even if they aren’t, even if such love was so wholly unnatural that a man should be sent to prison for it, would that man really deserve all that would follow? The public humiliation? The assaults from fellow inmates and prison guards? The torturous medical experiments?”

Sullivan blenched at the list of consequences. He has never heard anyone talk so vehemently for gay men. He had heard plenty of people talk against it and he felt a sudden desire to get answers to all the accusations and arguments from the strange little man in front of him.

“But isn’t it dangerous when we bend the law to fit our own ideas?”

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” Father Brown quoted. “These laws are the most important. These are the commandments emphasized to us by the Son of God himself. All the other laws that you talk about were written by men. And if they were written by men to fit their own ideas, then why should we not allow our compassion to bend them?”

The inspector grabbed his files to put them in a cabinet behind his desk, but more importantly for a chance to turn his back on the priest to hide the tears gathering in his eyes. If the father had only half the effect on other people as it had on him, it wasn’t a surprise so many criminals had confessed in this town, he thought.

“I am sure” the father continued, “that in this instance compassion dictates that you let Sidney be. He is by no means a saint, but he is a good man. He might have a quick temper and quick hands, but he never willingly harms anyone. He has a strong sense of justice, even if he doesn’t trust the police. I’m not condoning his tendency to commit petty crimes, but he doesn’t deserve a life in prison for his actions. To destroy a man’s life, there should be a better reason than disliking his taste, may that dislike be ever so strong”

“You are mostly right, Father. Though to be honest I was never going to arrest Carter for being with a man, I don’t have any proof of that anyway. But you are wrong in that it sometimes the person one _spends time with_ can be a crime. For example, when the person you are spending time with in secret is a criminal, who has an unknown accomplice.”

“A criminal?”

“Didn’t Carter tell you? He was with Mr. Branson. I saw him when we were going to arrest him at the pub. Where Branson evaded arrest. And helping someone to escape the police sounds exactly like the sort of thing Carter enjoys.” Sullivan’s fists clenched as he talked about Mr. Branson.

William Branson was an old acquaintance of his and the week Bill spent in Kembleford was already the worst week Sullivan had since he was moved to the town, even without one of the most gruesome murders he has ever seen, or the loss of one of his officers. Bill was the kid Sullivan’s father always compared him to, and having known each other since childhood, the visitor had many embarrassing stories about the inspector that he gladly told everyone.

His outburst resulted in a rare occurrence, Father Brown was speechless for a good few minutes. When he spoke, his words started slowly. “Poor Sidney. I am perfectly certain that he had no idea about Mr. Branson, and he will feel devastated. But we cannot blame him for not knowing, whether we liked Mr. Branson or not, he fooled us all. None of us had any idea and – forgive me for saying this, but – Sidney doesn’t always try that hard to get to know to people before… having a casual encounter with them.”

“I still need to question him about it” Sullivan answered, momentarily gaining back his confidence by returning to his duties as an inspector. “But if he cooperates, and I can be satisfied that it was just an unfortunate accident on his part, then I’m prepared to keep it off the record.”

“If you might allow me an advice…” Farther Brown trailed off and waited for the inspector to look at him before continuing, “right now Sidney expects the worst. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was already planning his disappearance from Kembleford. Now, the poor boy never stuck around anywhere to call it a home before, but over his time here he grew dear to many of us and dare I believe, he came to think of us with similar affections. I would hate to lose him, especially when it seems like he doesn’t have to fear staying.”

If Father Brown hadn’t made sure that he was looking into Sullivan’s eyes, he would never have noticed the sorrow passing through them. But as he was focused on making Sidney’s life as easy as he could, he simply locked it away in his mind for a time when he needn’t have to worry about his friend. Or at least when he didn’t have to worry this much.

“For the sake of his peace of mind, as well as to ensure that he cooperates with you, I would advise you to have that conversation with him sooner rather than later and to start it by letting him know in no uncertain terms that he doesn’t have to fear from you on this account. And one more thing” the father’s stare suddenly turned hard, and his voice stern. “I am showing great trust in you by telling you where you can find Sidney. He is like a son to me and I would do a lot more for him than what is appropriate from a Catholic priest. Don’t betray my trust. Don’t you hurt my boy.”

Father Brown never raised his voice, never mentioned any real threat, but looking in his eyes, Sullivan had no doubt that this little priest would have the power to command Archangel Michael and all his armies if that was needed to protect Sidney Carter.

“I promise you that I have no intention to hurt him” the inspector was afraid to tell Father Brown just how much he meant those words, but he hoped that his eyes conveyed enough. “I wouldn’t even care” he continued, finally averting his eyes, afraid that the observant priest will catch him in the lie, “I wouldn’t even care who Sid…ney Carter spends his time with if it was anyone else but him. I just want to know how much he knows about Mr. Branson. Regarding the murders.”

“Good” the smile was back of the father’s face as if it had never left. “He is at Lady Felicia’s. Tell them that I told you where to find him and they will hear you out.”

 

# ***

 

Sid was pacing nervously in the one of Lady Felicia’s guest rooms. He lost count of the number of times he bolted for the door to run, only to turn back remembering his promise not to leave before saying goodbye to Father Brown.

He tried to calm his nerves by reminding himself of the father’s powers of persuasion, but every time he started to imagine a future he wasn’t sent to prison, his imagination ran away from him and within seconds he was picturing himself with Sullivan, sharing a life. Since these impossibly happy pictures were just as painful as thinking of the almost inevitable prison, the few hours that had passed since he left the presbytery, have been his own personal hell. And he didn’t even allow himself to think about the news Lady Felicia shared with him, that he had been with the man responsible for the horrid murders keeping Kembleford in terror, and he was in all this trouble for such a man. He was such a wreck that he didn’t even hear the footsteps in the hallway, and only noticed that someone was coming when Inspector Sullivan had already stepped through the door.

“How did you get in here?” Sid blurted, his normally strong fight or flight reflex completely gone, leaving him frozen in the middle of the room.

Sullivan thought he would be nervous or awkward when he came face to face with Sid. But seeing the fear in his eyes that were puffy and red no doubt from crying, and knowing that he was responsible for those emotions, he suddenly felt confident. He knew he had to protect the man in front of him. With sudden clarity, he knew exactly what he had to do.

“Lady Felicia was kind enough to point me to your room after I told her that the Father has sent me. He told me where to find you because…” Sullivan took a deep breath. Even though he knew there would be no return once he said the words, he felt no doubt that he could trust his most closely guarded secret to this man. “Because I promised him I wouldn’t arrest you. What I haven’t told him is that I have never arrested any man for being with another man.” Sullivan’s relief was almost palpable when Sid finally met his eyes, some of the tension and fear gone from his face, to be replaced by curiosity. “Nor do I plan to do so. You see, if I began to arrest gay men, I would have to start with myself.”

Sid wasn’t the kind of person who overthought things when there was a chance to act instead. The surge of relief washing over him almost knocked him forward. In two long strides he was in front of the inspector, kissing him with all the desperation of the afternoon.

Then just as suddenly he jumped back, his hand flying to his mouth. “I’m sorry” he whispered. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. I mean you don’t have to… Just forget…”

He trailed off as Sullivan closed the small space put between them by the jump. “I don’t want to forget it. You didn’t really not mean it, did you?”

Sid could feel the heat of the detective’s breath against his face. “John” the inspector’s name came out as a plea from his lips. A plea that was quickly answered by strong, soft hands grabbing his head, long fingers waving through his already messy hair, pressing their lips together for a second time.

This kiss was different. There was no desperation this time. Only gentle touches discovering each other’s face, tongues exploring each other’s mouths. The taste of tea, cigarettes, and the salty remains of long forgotten tears.

Time has stopped and the whole world disappeared for the two men as the dark winter night grew around them. By the time they emerged from their own bubble, the room was cast into complete darkness. They stumbled to the door, looking for the lightswitch, laughing, holding hands as two children.

When they could once again see, the sight brought out another bout of laughter. They definitely needed to clean up before returning to society. Sullivan couldn’t remember the last time he laughed so truly.

This carefreeness was what first made him notice Sid, not long after he first arrived. He remembered how heartily Sid laughed as they arrested that horrid woman on that frightful farm. Even after at least two close calls with death, Sid’s smile made the inspector want to kiss him right there, in front of the ghostly family, half of Kembleford’s police force and a priest. Now that he could, he made up for that lost opportunity by pressing a quick peck on the still smirking lips. Sullivan swore to himself that he would make most of the night and kiss the man in his arms as many times as possible to make up for all the other lost opportunities and to store some away for the future.

“Inspector!” Sid protested in mock indignation. “You seem to be quite insatiable. Not that I’m complaining, I just thought we might do better to get someplace more… private. Care to join me in my caravan for the night?”

The mention of privacy pulled the inspector back into reality and chased away all his confidence. “I don’t… I haven’t… I’m not very experienced” he admitted, studying intently a particularly interesting pattern on the wall. “I’ve never had a casual, one time… thing before.”

Sid dropped Sullivan’s hand as if it had burned him. Sullivan could almost see a mask building up over Sid’s face, and he could clearly hear the strain in his voice as he forced easiness into his answer. “One time… Yes, of course. What else? But a fun time, eh?”

“No!” Sullivan shouted perhaps a little louder than what was wise in a house full of servants. He grabbed Sid as if he could shake the mask off. “That isn’t what I meant. What I want. I just assumed that’s what you wanted. You aren’t known for settling for just one person.”

And with that, Sid’s smile was back. “You make it sound like I was giving up something better to _‘settle for you’_ ” he stifled a yawn. The emotional rollercoaster that his day was left him exhausted and he surprised himself with the realization that all he wanted for that night was to sleep in John’s arms. “But I can’t imagine anything better. If I can have this,” he gestured at the two of them, “there can be nothing better for me. I don’t need anyone else but _you_.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are welcome.
> 
> Two of Father Brown's arguments come from other sources:  
> 1) The Bible, Matthew 22:36-40  
> 2) Paraphrasing Jeremy Bentham: "To destroy a man there should certainly be some better reason than mere dislike to his Taste, let that dislike be ever so strong"  
> — Jeremy Bentham on the persecution of homosexual men, written at the end of the 18th century
> 
> This work is unedited, I have just finished writing it and I want to post, but it is 3.30 AM. Please excuse any errors and feel free to correct them. Otherwise I'll probably edit it myself sometime soon.
> 
> If you enjoyed this fic, consider checking out my other stories for the Halcyon series, mostly featuring a gay couple in WWII London.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at szonklin.tumblr.com


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